Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) declares:

(a) its support for the vital work performed each and every day by the highly trained professionals providing aviation rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) services to ensure the safety of the flying public;

(b) that the ARFF service is particularly important to the safe operation of airports in regional Australia where it also responds to non-aviation emergencies within its local communities; and

  (c) that the presence of the ARFF service is key to safeguarding the safety and security at major metropolitan and regional airports around the country, which is critical for international and domestic tourism; and

(2) calls on the Government to reject any proposal to increase the threshold for the provision of ARFF services at airports from the existing 350,000 passenger movements annually, noting that this would preclude the establishment of these services at Proserpine Whitsunday Coast Airport and lead to the removal of these services from the following regional communities: Ballina; Coffs Harbour; Ayres Rock; Gladstone; Hamilton Island; Broome; Karratha; Newman; and Port Hedland.

Firefighting services at our nation's airports are critical to the safety of travellers. Our nation has an excellent record when it comes to aviation safety. We also have a strong commitment to investment in the emergency services that would be necessary in the event of an accident. Indeed, in 2009, as transport minister in the Labor government, I was proud to deliver a $70 million program to upgrade fire trucks at our nation's busiest airports. It included 33 new trucks, new fire stations at Perth and Maroochydore, new vehicles to meet the needs of the A380 and fire alarm monitoring at 20 locations nationwide.

Safety is also critical at our smaller regional airports. In 2014, the aviation rescue and firefighting services responded to some 6,700 calls relating to airport emergency assistance. That's why I today, through this motion, am calling upon the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to reject the absurd proposal for a reduction in firefighting capacity at regional airports. Current Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations require an aviation fire and rescue service at every Australian airport that has at least 350,000 passengers travelling through it each year. However, CASA has recently accepted recommendations from an infrastructure department aviation rescue and firefighting services regulatory policy review which would weaken this standard. Going forward, the threshold would rise to 500,000 passenger movements a year. This idea makes no sense. The minister for transport should reject it today in the interests of safety and regional economic development. Under the international standards and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, aviation firefighters are specifically trained. They must be stationed to be able to respond within three minutes to an aircraft crash or fire for the best chance of rescue. Our existing standards and thresholds on provision of aerodrome rescue and firefighting services reflect Australia's commitment to ICAO standards and recommended practices, including article 9.2.1, which provides that rescue and firefighting equipment and services shall be provided at an aerodrome.

Let's look in practical terms at what the acceptance of this proposal would mean for regional communities that rely upon jobs in tourism and regional aviation to get access to capital cities. Here are some airports that have aviation rescue and firefighting services and are below the 500,000 passenger threshold: Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Ayers Rock, Gladstone, Hamilton Island, Broome, Karratha, Newman and Port Hedland. I understand that, under pressure from local communities and Labor, the government's considering maintaining firefighting services at these airports and then imposing a new threshold from here on in. That, of course, would be good for those airports and communities that have fought to maintain these services, including, of course, the union that represents them. However, it would lead to a two-tiered system. In the future, airports with passenger movements between 350,000 and 500,000 per year would not be provided with firefighting facilities. Other airports are on the cusp of meeting this criterion, including Proserpine. It should have an aviation firefighting service established because 353,000 passengers passed through that airport last year. The government must today state clearly that the Proserpine airport will be provided with rescue and firefighting services. Just make a decision and support this community.

The change being contemplated should be rejected. Anyone who has had the privilege of being a minister in a government knows that, from time to time, bad ideas come forward from the bureaucracy. Some of them, once rejected, keep coming back again and again. This is one of those ideas. It first came to my attention when I was a minister and I banished it. It was a bad idea then and it's a bad idea now. These are issues upon which the minister for transport, who's new to the portfolio, needs to deliver. The fact is that, across the board, issues of aviation safety—the safety of the travelling public—have been bipartisan issues. That needs to continue to be the case. The minister should rule out these proposals today and do it urgently in the interests of those communities, in the interests of firefighting in Australia and in the interests of regional economic development in those communities.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion before us is nothing more than a scare campaign and an old one at that. It suggests that aviation firefighting services are going to be removed from a number of airports in my electorate: Hamilton Island and Proserpine. But I note that the speech that was delivered was pretty different to the motion that's before us, and that's because the member has realised that both those claims are false. They were false two years ago, and they're still false today.

The previous minister for transport, the member for Gippsland, published a media release on 16 December 2016, and these were the key points:

The minister went on to say:

The Australian Government has no plans to close ARFFS at regional airports. In relation to existing ARFFS locations at our regional airports, these will continue to operate under current arrangements, which is appropriate as several of these ARFFS operations and facilities have only been established in the last few years.

It can't be clearer than that. Existing services, including those at Proserpine and Hamilton Island, will remain untouched. So claims in this motion about losing services at many different places—Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Ayers Rock, Gladstone, Broome, Karratha, Newman, Port Hedland and Hamilton Island—are all hogwash. It's a scare campaign which was debunked more than two years ago.

As far as Proserpine's Whitsunday Coast Airport is concerned, the shadow minister has claimed in this motion that any change would preclude the establishment of firefighting services at that airport. Again, it's not true. The establishment of services at Proserpine is already in progress. I understand the case is being presented to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority this very week. The process will see services established at Proserpine, making it an existing service. As such, that service will be grandfathered if any regulatory changes are made. So there's no problem.

Passenger movements at the Whitsunday Coast Airport have already reached 350,000. They're soon going to pass 500,000, with the airport forecasting 900,000 passenger movements a year by 2035. I'm very proud to say that the Whitsunday Coast Airport, which is the Proserpine airport, not only is the fastest growing airport in my electorate but is recognised as one of the fastest growing airports in the whole country. Its growth is a reflection of the quality tourism we're offering in the Whitsundays and the good economic management and vision exhibited by the owners of the airport, the Whitsunday Regional Council. I pay tribute to Mayor Andrew Willcox for that. This vision includes a push for international flights into the airport, which would provide an automatic trigger for the provision of aviation rescue and firefighting services anyway.

When this issue was first raised, the aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union of Australia contacted me with their concerns about the regulatory policy review consultation paper and I had a look into it. The union, in its submission to that paper, was the only stakeholder that was against those changes, and they asked me for my support in lobbing against the changes on the grounds that services and jobs would be lost locally. I agree with those sentiments. I don't want to see any local jobs lost. In fact, I want to see jobs created through an expanding airport, aviation and tourism industry. I also didn't want to see safety services cut at any of my airports, especially one predominantly serving the tourism market. As a result, I sought assurances way back then—several years ago, two elections ago—from the then minister for transport that services would not be cut. At that time, I was assured by the minister, publicly, that those services would not be cut. For whatever reason, we've had the Labor Party come in here and try to breathe life into a badly beaten scare campaign. I once against sought assurances from the new minister this very morning as to what is going on. I am told that the same assurances I was given then are alive now. The policy has not changed.

This motion is a sham, but I will agree with one point in it, and that is the first point. I do support the vital work that is being performed each and every day by highly trained professionals providing aviation, rescue and firefighting services on Hamilton Island and elsewhere around this country—and the ones who will come onboard in Proserpine. They ensure the safety of the flying public. For tourism based airports, such as the Whitsunday Coast Airport and Hamilton Island Airport, that is critical. These individuals do a great job providing important services. They deserve better than being told that they're going to lose their jobs as part of some scare campaign, because they are not. Hamilton Island aviation firefighting services are safe, and aviation firefighting services will be established at Proserpine. They continue to do a great job, and I support the government's stance to keep those jobs.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today in support of the motion by the member for Grayndler, which acknowledges the vital work performed in our regional airports by the highly-trained professionals who provide aviation rescue and firefighting services. One of those airports is in Ballina, in my electorate of Richmond. The Ballina shire is, very rightly, a popular and busy tourist destination. It is a major gateway to the beautiful New South Wales Northern Rivers. Ballina airport sees approximately 490,000 passengers through the terminal each year. The safety of passengers, locals and international tourists, and airport staff at these facilities is paramount. I commend the aviation rescue and firefighting service, whose highly-trained professionals provide services that ensure the safety of everyone who passes through airports all over Australia, including Ballina.

Currently, under Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations, airports require a minimum of 350,000 passengers each year to be eligible for the establishment and maintenance of this important firefighting service. Now the Turnbull government proposes to raise the threshold to a minimum of 500,000 passengers per year. This will adversely affect rural and regional airports around Australia—including Ballina—by making them ineligible for this important aviation rescue and firefighting service. This has come about as a result of a large review undertaken by the department. And now the government is intending to implement recommendations that include raising that threshold to 500,000 passengers per year. Quite frankly, this decision will adversely affect the same people that nearly every other government decision so adversely affects: people in regional and rural areas.

The disestablishment of this service is even more dangerous than simply cutting a safety initiative. Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters receive very specialist training to deal with the unique issues experienced at an airport. They are trained in the necessity of responding to an aircraft blaze within three minutes to ensure the survival of everyone on board. They are painfully aware that a response after that time significantly lowers the possibility of saving passengers, crew and airport staff involved in such an emergency. If the threshold for determining the provision of these firefighters has changed, many rural airports, including Ballina, will be denied access to this specialised, efficient and vital service. The service may then be provided by non-aviation agencies that could operate below the stringent standard set down by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. It is a real concern. In addition to Ballina, many popular tourist spots would, potentially, have their main airports affected. The safety ramifications are wide ranging. Indeed, the flow-on effects could be monumental.

We rightly pride ourselves on our record with tourism in Australia, and airport and aircraft safety is a major part of that success. So why would the government even think about jeopardising aircraft safety at this time? We want to be able to reassure all those passengers at airports, including those in regional and rural communities, that our areas are safe places of travel for business or holidays. In many areas, it is also important to remember that aviation rescue and firefighting services provide assistance in non-aviation emergencies.

On this note, I would like to acknowledge Ballina Shire Council, who have been diligently lobbying for support in other firefighting areas within the shire, and I wish to commend the council on their efforts in appealing to the New South Wales state emergency minister regarding the urgent need for full-time firefighters at Ballina fire station. This ongoing request for assistance has been largely met with a refusal to fix the situation. I commend the council for their important role in continuing advocacy for adequate and appropriate emergency services in the region.

In this instance, their advocacy includes calling for enough permanent and full-time firefighters to work with the on-call firefighters. Council has stressed this many times with the minister: that it is necessary to ensure adequate coverage for Ballina and the surrounding communities. They have been advocating strongly for this, and I call upon the state government to listen to their concerns and meet them. Once again, we have Liberal and National governments, both at state and federal levels, looking at making harsh cuts that would directly affect the lives of those living in regional Australia. The Turnbull government have all the wrong priorities. They are pursuing these cruel cuts to aviation firefighting while giving tax cuts to multimillionaires and big business. Wrong priorities. As for the New South Wales government, they also have the wrong priorities. They can find $2.5 billion to rebuild city sports stadiums but can't fund full-time firefighters in Ballina. Quite frankly, it really is a disgrace.

I do not want to see passengers from within Australia and overseas lose confidence in their ability to fly safely into airports like Ballina and into our region as a result of these direct cuts by the Turnbull government. I'm not willing to stand by and watch this happen in my electorate of Richmond. It will be detrimental for our local economy. That's why I proudly support the motion put forward by the member for Grayndler.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, rise to support the motion put forward by the member for Grayndler to acknowledge and support the Australian rescue and firefighting teams around the nation. Situated in the middle of the Hindmarsh electorate, over at the Adelaide airport, is one of the largest employers of people in the state of South Australia. We see the wonderful, professional staff who keep things safe and running and get us on flights to our destinations on time: the air traffic controllers, the baggage handlers, the security staff, the AFP, Borderforce, the check-in staff, the cleaners, the Qantas employees, the Virgin staff and the Jetstar staff, who are all good Australian Services Union members. The guys we hope not to see but are there in case of emergency are the hardworking men and women who sometimes work in dangerous situations: the Australian rescue firefighters. The ARFF service 26 of the busiest airports in Australia. In 2014, they responded to 6,700 aircraft and airport emergency assistance requests. This included spills, aircraft emergencies and even turnbacks and perimeter security issues. That equates to around 18 issues each and every day around the country.

Some of the callouts are more severe than others, of course, but how many times do we hear about these dedicated individuals in the press or on TV? We don't hear much about them—maybe a few times a year, if we're lucky. These guys do not rest. If there's an emergency on Christmas morning, who do you think is out there? They are. If there's a wheel that won't deploy, forcing a turnback in the middle of the night, it's those wonderful firefighters who do the rescue. Who will be there? They will be there. If there's a fuel spill from a refilling plane at 5 in the morning, they will be there. Adelaide Airport is a category 9 airport. Categories dictate the required amount of water and foam that is needed to be carried, the response times, the water discharges, the rates and the number of personnel. The categories range from six to 10.

The motion that the member for Grayndler has moved calls on the government to reject any proposals to increase the threshold provision for firefighter services at airports from the existing 350,000 passenger movements annually, noting that this would preclude the establishment of these services at many regional airports. In South Australia, for example, is Port Lincoln, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and even the growing airport of Kangaroo Island. They service many tourists going to tourist destinations. As we heard the member for Richmond say, we want our tourists to feel safe when they're taking off and landing at airports. That's why this is so important. Why should big cities be safer while our regional areas suffer? All regional MPs in the south should strongly support the motion put forward by the member for Grayndler.

Why am I speaking on the importance of firefighters? It's because of Adelaide Airport. I want to remind the government of a particular question in writing that I submitted last year regarding PFOS and PFOA, which have been used by airport firefighters around Australia—in fact, around the world—for many years. These chemicals have been banned worldwide. We know that wonderful workers have been suffering the effects of being exposed to these chemicals for many years, including at Adelaide Airport. I put a question on notice but have yet to receive an answer back from the minister. These chemicals have been proven to have harmed the environment—that's why they've been banned—and they are potentially harmful to workers. Many firefighters were exposed to these chemicals. I have been meeting with them in my electorate for a number of months, trying to ensure that they get some medical checks—that they get their blood tested on a regular basis to see the level at which the chemicals are flowing through their bodies. The workers have been exposed to chemicals through no fault of their own and we should stand up for them. The firefighters keep us safe when we fly and ensure that, if there is an emergency, they're the first ones there. It's no coincidence that I haven't received a letter back— (Time expired)

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As there are no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.